1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved edging assembly which may be used for bordering a lawn, garden strip, patio and the like.
2. Description of Related Art
An edging assembly of this type is disclosed in Australian Patent specification No. 13039/66. There is described in that document an edging assembly comprising a plurality of metal stakes of I or channel section which were each driven into the ground. A cover of inverted channel section was then mounted to the plurality of stakes to conceal the respective upper portions of the stakes above ground level. The cover was formed from generally rigid material. There was also provided a conduit supported by the upper ends of the stakes and covered by the top part of the channel shaped cover which was provided with perforations or holes which were fitted with jets or nozzles, thereby providing a sprinkler system for plants or grass located adjacent to the edging assembly. There was also disclosed the fact that there could be provided a concrete strip located adjacent to the channel shaped cover or continuous side flange of the channel shaped cover which provided a firm surface for supporting a lawnmower wheel and thereby allowing a grass plot to be cut right to the peripheral edge thereof.
It has been found in practice that an edging assembly as described above was not commercially accepted. This was mainly due to the method of construction or installation wherein it was necessary for a portion of the channel-shaped cover, in most cases to be buried in the ground and for the channel portion to be fitted snugly over the plurality of metal stakes. It was also necessary to make provision for the conduit to be located within the interior of the channel shaped cover. Thus, installation or construction of the edging assembly was time consuming and labor intensive. Also the above-mentioned arrangement was cumbersome and unduly complicated in construction.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,449 relates to a grass edging and watering device to be used adjacent borders of walks or plant beds and refers to an extruded section having a longitudinally extending anchoring leg carried in the earth adjacent the border. There is also provided a substantially flat longitudinally extending mower strip integral with the top part of the vertical leg and an enlarged longitudinally extending body portion projecting above the junction of the anchoring leg and the flat mower strip. A longitudinal bore is provided in the body portion for carrying water therethrough and longitudinally spaced spray heads are carried on the body portion and communicate with the bore. The anchoring leg may have outwardly extending barbs for retention of the anchoring leg within the ground.
While the above-mentioned edging arrangement is useful, it was an essential requirement that the anchoring leg be buried in the ground and this meant that in order to install the edging device of U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,449 it was necessary to dig a trench and accurately locate the mower strip on the top of the ground. Another problem was that the edging device was not versatile and could not be utilized for differing installation requirements. Thus in relation to curved pathways it was necessary to design or provide specially fabricated edging components.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,786 refers to a divider assembly for landscaping comprising a plurality of interconnected divider sections wherein each of the sections comprised an extruded length of plastics material including an enlarged upper section defining a central passage. There was also provided an integrally formed downwardly extending flange for substantial insertion in the ground. There was also provided hose coupling means associated with the upper section but the same disadvantage with respect to entrenchment described above in relation to U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,449 also occurred in regard to U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,786.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,954,194 describes a watering arrangement wherein stakes are driven into the ground so as to support a hose carried thereby but this arrangement was somewhat primitive and did not relate to an edging device.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,909,328 teaches irrigation coping for gardens which was laid on top of the ground and retained therein by relatively short downwardly extending spikes. The coping was substantially tubular and carried a relatively large volume of water. There was also provided a conduit in an upper part of the coping which provided suitable hose coupling means. Again this arrangement was not directly suitable for edging purposes because of its inherent lack of stabiity and its primary function was for irrigation since the base part of the copying combined a plurality of perforations to allow egress of water.
From the summary of the prior art therefore it will be appreciated that it was considered necessary to provide an edging assembly which could be installed in minimum time requiring little ground disturbance and which was relatively lightweight and compact and was simple to manufacture and relatively effective in operation.